Saudi defense minister, UK counterpart discuss Gaza situation
Updated 24 November 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman discussed the situation in Gaza with Grant Shapps, UK secretary of state for defense.
Prince Khalid wrote on X: “I stressed the need to end military operations, protect civilians and allow unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid.”
Prince Khalid said they also reviewed the two nation’s strategic defense partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation.
COP16: Saudi Arabia co-leads in global initiative to monitor and tackle sand storms
Riyadh and other participating countries will contribute about $2 billion to the initiative
Saudi Arabia will enhance early dust warning systems in countries that lack the capabilities
Updated 7 sec ago
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is taking up a leading role in a global initiative to establish an early warning system in the Middle East to monitor sand and dust storms.
The announcement was made on Wednesday during the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to combat desertification, being held in Riyadh until Dec. 13.
Under the supervision of the World Meteorological Organization, Riyadh and other participating countries will contribute about $2 billion to this initiative aimed at addressing sand and dust storms, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The initiative for the early warning system aims to develop renewable solutions to tackle land degradation, drought and desertification.
Jamaan Saad Al-Qahtani, executive director of the Sand and Dust Storm Regional Center in Jeddah, said during the COP16 panel that “the initiative seeks to enhance global monitoring, surveillance, warnings and coordination related to sand and dust storms.”
According to environmental studies, desertification has generated about two billion tons of sand and dust yearly.
Saudi Arabia hosts the fourth global center in Jeddah affiliated with the World Meteorological Organization, which monitors dust storms in the GCC and the Middle East. The other three global centers are in Beijing, Barcelona and Barbados.
Qahtani said that Saudi Arabia would “enhance early warning systems in countries that currently lack the necessary capabilities.”
Osama Fakiha, Saudi deputy minister of environment, said that more than 1.8 billion people were affected by drought.
He stressed the need to shift from simply responding to drought conditions as they arose to taking proactive steps to address these challenges effectively, SPA reported.
“Through this initiative, we target 80 countries that are most vulnerable to drought,” Fakiha said.
Saudi foreign minister discusses Syria with UN envoy
Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Geir Pedersen discuss developments since Bashar Assad’s exit
Updated 34 min 3 sec ago
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has discussed the situation in Syria with the UN’s special envoy to the country.
Prince Faisal received a phone call from Geir Pedersen on Wednesday, during which they discussed the latest developments in Syria, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Opposition fighters seized Damascus on Sunday, forcing former President Bashar Assad to flee the country.
The rebels announced an interim leader on Tuesday to act as caretaker prime minister.
Since Assad’s downfall, Israel has carried out airstrikes on Syria and sent troops across its border into a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
Saudi Arabia has condemned the Israeli action, saying it would sabotage Syria’s chances of restoring security, stability, and territorial integrity.
Pedersen has called for Syria’s transition to be an inclusive process for the country’s different communities.
Saudi Arabia confirmed as 2034 World Cup host — FIFA
Saudi Arabia’s bid was acclaimed by applause of over 200 FIFA member federations
Announcement made during online meeting hosted by FIFA President Infantino in Zurich
Updated 34 min 18 sec ago
AP
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has been officially confirmed by FIFA as host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer.
The Saudi bid was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations. They took part remotely in an online meeting hosted in Zurich on Wednesday by the soccer body’s president Gianni Infantino.
“The vote of the congress is loud and clear,” said Infantino, who had asked officials on a bank of screens to clap their hands at head level to show their support.
Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal celebrates the announcement on Wednesday. (SPA)
The decision was combined with approving the only candidate to host the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host in a six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 games.
The South American connection will mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930.
Saudi Arabia’s road to becoming FIFA World Cup 2034 host
Kingdom goes uncontested
Bid receives FIFA’s highest-ever rating
Updated 27 min 52 sec ago
Rashid Hassan
RIYADH: FIFA officially ratified Saudi Arabia as host of the World Cup 2034 on Wednesday in what was a fairly drama-free affair for an obvious reason — the sport’s global governing body confirmed the name of the lone, uncontested bidder as the host.
Nevertheless, the country has proved itself worthy of the title after a journey of several years that culminated in achieving FIFA’s highest-ever rating for a bid submission and ultimately winning.
For the Kingdom, the journey from bidder to winner of the host of the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world came after an interesting turn of events.
The journey began with Saudi Arabia reportedly holding talks in September 2022 with sports chiefs in Egypt and Greece over an audacious joint bid to host the World Cup 2030.
“The three countries are working flat out” and “the application to organize the tournament is being studied,” Mohammed Fawzi, spokesman for the Egyptian Sports Ministry, said at the time.
Greece’s Hellenic Football Federation in Athens had also confirmed that the three countries were holding discussions about a joint bid.
However, whatever discussions were held did not result in a bid being submitted, and the Saudi Tourism Ministry in November 2022 confirmed that no official bid to host the World Cup 2030 was made.
Changing the plan, the Kingdom next year started seeking support for staging the mega sporting event alone in 2034, and in October 2023 announced its intention to bid to host the World Cup 2034.
On Oct. 9, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation submitted a letter of intent to bid to host the 2034 World Cup.
Yasser Al-Misehal, SAFF president, said at the time: “This is the second step of a hugely exciting journey that the nation is embarking on. The 2034 FIFA World Cup is our invitation to the world to witness Saudi Arabia’s development, experience its culture and become part of its history.”
Led by the SAFF, the bid for 2034 intended from the beginning to deliver a world-class tournament drawing inspiration from the Kingdom’s social and economic transformation and the deep-rooted passion for football.
Saudi Arabia’s inaugural bid was backed by the Kingdom’s growing experience of hosting world-class football events and its plans to welcome fans across the world to the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
Reflecting on the intention to bid, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman emphasized that Saudi Arabia’s desire to bid for the tournament was a reflection of the Kingdom’s progress in all sectors.
Under the Saudi Vision 2030, sport is playing a significant role in contributing to the country’s economic growth and enhancing the quality of life for all, and has an ability to unite and bring different cultures together.
The Kingdom said on Oct. 4, 2023 that it would bid for the 2034 event, minutes after the process was launched.
As a result of the tournament’s continental rotation, FIFA invited only member countries of the Asian and Oceanian confederations to apply.
Indonesia considered a joint bid with Australia, or other countries such as New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, but on Oct. 19 it swung behind Saudi Arabia’s bid.
Australia, which hosted the Women’s World Cup 2023, was also a contender but withdrew its interest after the Asian Football Confederation’s decision to back the Saudi bid.
Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said bidding for the tournament was “not going to be favorable to Australia.”
He said: “Saudi is a strong bid. They have a lot of resources, and not just for the 2034 World Cup. From the government, top down they are prioritizing investment in football. That is difficult to compete with.”
Last October, a FIFA delegation arrived in the Kingdom to review the details of the bid. As proposed, 48 teams will be participating at venues in one country for the first time in history.
The delegation visited the Saudi cities proposed to host the tournament, inspected the sports projects and facilities included in the bid, and reviewed other preparations.
It was announced on Oct. 31, 2023 that the football World Cup, the biggest sports show on Earth, was set to come to Saudi Arabia.
“The Kingdom is the only remaining bidder for the 2034 tournament after sole rivals Australia pulled out,” the sport’s world governing body FIFA said, adding that the decision would be ratified officially at a special FIFA congress at the end of 2024.
On March 1, 2024 SAFF launched its formal bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 under the slogan “Growing Together.”
The campaign proved a formality when the Kingdom became the only country to enter the contest to host the tournament.
The federation, as part of its formal bid, has unveiled a bid logo, website, as well as a short film that celebrates the passion, spirit and diversity of football in the Kingdom.
Al-Misehal said: “Telling our football story to the world is of massive importance. And we believe ‘Growing Together’ is the perfect, yet simple description of our approach to hopefully hosting the tournament in 10 years’ time.”
The bid was submitted to FIFA officials in Paris on July 29, 2024 by a delegation headed by the Saudi minister of sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, and Al-Misehal.
“With this candidacy, we intend to host the exceptional edition that brings together 48 teams for the first time in the history of the tournament in one country,” Prince Abdulaziz said at the time.
“Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 is a bid for the future. It is for our children and those who dream big,” he added.
The Kingdom’s bid to host the World Cup 2034 received a rating of 419.8 out of 500 in November 2024, the highest technical rating ever given by FIFA.
The announcement came just ahead of the federation’s general assembly on Dec. 11 that officially ratified Saudi Arabia as host of the World Cup 2034.
Eight new native plant species discovered in Saudi Arabia
Discovery is part of the NEOM flora program, which aims to protect 95 percent of natural lands and restore and document the region’s unique biodiversity
Two-phase program included a comprehensive study of the geology, soil, watershed hydrology, ecology and topography of NEOM
Updated 11 December 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and NEOM have discovered eight native plant species that were not previously recorded in the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
This discovery is part of the NEOM flora program, which aims to protect 95 percent of natural lands and restore and document the region’s unique biodiversity.
The two-phase program included a comprehensive study of the geology, soil, watershed hydrology, ecology and topography of NEOM.
“The new plant species have been documented at the National Herbarium within the Seed Center and Plant Genetic Resources Bank in Riyadh, representing a significant addition to Saudi Arabia’s recorded flora,” said Ahmad Alayadh, deputy minister for agriculture.
The eight species are: Bituminaria flaccida (Nabelek) Greuter, Cicer judaicum Boiss, Crambe hispanica L, Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC, Hyoscyamus boveanus (Dunal) Asch & Schweinf, Muscari longipes subsp Longipes, Phagnalon nitidum Fresen, and Plantago sinaica (Barneoud) Decne.
Dhiya Zaidan, senior manager of landscape architecture at NEOM, said: “Over the past two and a half years, this initiative has yielded remarkable results, including documenting 345 local plant species, 28 rare species, and eight new registered plant species not previously recorded in the Kingdom.
“This would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our researchers and scientists on the ground.”
Launched in 2021, the NEOM flora program is a key initiative to document and conserve the region’s natural heritage, enhancing knowledge of local vegetation and plant species.
